Rock Center
Injured as a baby in the Oklahoma City bombing, PJ Allen still struggles to breathe. The teenager and his grandmother, Deloris Watson, say that they have repeatedly asked the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, the organization entrusted with over $14 million in donations to help the victims of the bombing, for help with PJ’s healthcare. They claim that the foundation has often refused to help them and instead steered them and other victims to government programs like Medicaid and Pell Grants. The president of the foundation says it has helped almost 1,000 people and by steering victims to government programs, it helps the fund stay solvent.
Editor's Note: Harry Smith’s full report aired Friday, March 1 at 10pm/9CDT on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.
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Money donated from the public to victims of the OKC bombing was directed instead to a charity. While misleading the public as to the existence of the fund, the charity, Oklahoma City Community Foundation, flourished in a new multimillion dollar facility in the center of downtown Oklahoma City. Victims and survivors were directed to apply for welfare. Some are homeless, many have housing insecurities, many more have unfunded medical needs and all must beg the fund for assistance.
In their own words: The mission of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, a nonprofit public charity, is to serve the charitable purposes of its donors and the charitable needs of the Oklahoma City area through the development and administration of endowment and other charitable funds with the goal of preserving capital and enhancing value.
I cannot believe there's a donor out there who expected this cruel turn of events.
I was at the Oklahoma City disaster as an Emergency Medical Technician for EMSA, the emergency medical service provider for Oklahoma City. I lived the horrors and was there to find the day care. I handled a number of the babies as they were passed out to myself and other rescuers present. Little did I know this would be a life changing experience for me and many others of the rescuers.
Little also was I aware that so much was available to us all as victims of the bombing. Seems that the Oklahoma City Community Foundation did shelter the funds put into their control by city and state officials. Little did I know nor made aware how tight fisted and money grubbing Nancy Anthony and her cohorts at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation would be with the millions it accrued from the donations good people from around the world donated to the victims.
These donations made to the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing need to be placed into the hands of the victims so that their lives can be made whole again. Not so that a community foundation can thrive in a brand new multi million dollar building and pay the salaries of charity workers.
This is a disgrace to the people of Oklahoma. Let the story speak for itself. God bless.
Darrel Mcknight
boady58@yahoo.com
I had originally thought that the show was to be broadcast Thursday.
Fortunately I misread - I'll be able to watch the full story Friday night.
For those watching, maybe there will be some who can initiate a government inquiry into this embarrassment for the State.
Oklahoma City Community Foundation
2010 IRS Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
Guidestar.org - Oklahoma City Community Foundation
Nancy Anthony was pocketing a cool $232,217 in compensation for a 50 hour work week from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation during the OCCF 2010 tax year...but Anthony is not alone in OCCF high comp employees.
They only granted $363k in awards vs $616k in overall expenses according to their 990 filings. Ms Anthony took home $232k in compensation in 2011. That is almost two-thirds of what they awarded in compensation. Ms. Anthony will keep this cash cow open as long as she can. The BoD should be ashamed of themselves of this this kind of enrichment. Clawback and jail time is warranted.
Here's their 2012 audit : www.occf.org/publications/audit2012.pdf
I am no accountant, but am I mistaken in reading that they invested over $250M in 2012? I'm not surprised- when I visited the Muscular Dystrophy Association's HQ in Tucson, AZ- I was amazed to see what a palace it is. I never gave to them again.
From Guidestar.org: Nancy Anthony joined the Oklahoma City Community Foundation as executive director in 1985 when it had assets of $20 million and one other full-time employee. She has helped direct the growth of the organization to assets in excess of $600 million, 30 employees and that makes average annual distributions to the Oklahoma City nonprofit community of nearly $20 million. (Harry where did the $14M figure come from?)